Bail-bearing for lanterns.



A. R. PRITGHARD. BAIL BEARING FOR LANTERNS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23. 1911.

Patented Apr. 18, 1911.'

Wittrmwsw 8 1H: NORRIS PETERS ca, wast-"Maren. n. c.

ALBERT R. PRITCI-IARD, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

BAIL-BEARING FOR LANTERNS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT R. PRITCI-IARD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bail-Bearings for Lanterns, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the bearing by which the end of the wire bail or handle is secured to the air-tube of a tubular lantern.

One object of the invention is to produce a device of the kind in question in which means are provided for retaining the bail in raised position, ready for use, these means being inclosed within the air-tube so as to produce a construction of neat appearance and without exterior projections.

Another object of the invention is to produce a bail-bearing in which a single member, secured to the air-tube, constitutes both a reinforcement for the opening or nipple in the wall of the air-tube, and a device for retaining the bail in upright position, thus providing a construction which is at once durable, simple, and inexpensive.

To the above ends the invention consists in the construction hereinafter described, as it is defined in the succeeding claims.

In the drawings: Figure l is a vertical section through the bail-bearing and a portion of the air-tube of a tubular lantern, the figure being on an enlarged scale; and, Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 22 in Fig. 1.

As the invention is applicable to tubular lanterns of any ordinary form, only the upper portion of one of the air-tubes of the lantern is shown in the drawings. This tube is constructed, in the ordinary manner, of two pressed sheet-metal members, 3 and 4, secured together by the usual seams 5. The air-tube is perforated to receive the end of the bail, and the perforation is surrounded by an outwardly-extending nipple 6 formed from the metal of the tube. The bail 7 is of ordinary form, being constructed of resilient wire. It has a bent end comprising a portion 8 which is journaledwithin the nipple 6, and an upwardly-bent ext-remity 9 which prevents the bail from becoming disengaged from the hearing.

The novel feature of the invention resides in a combined detent and reinforcing member which is employed in connection with the nipple 6. This member comprises a tu- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 23, 1911.

Patented Apr. 18, 1911.. Serial No. 604,254.

bular portion or sleeve 10 which fits closely within the nipple and which is bent back over the outside of the nipple so as to form a thimble 11. The sleeve is preferably soldered within the nipple, and it thickens and reinforces the metal at this point so as to prevent the wear and strain of the bail from enlarging the bearing. The thimble-portion 11 is not essential, but it is preferably used as it covers the raw edge at the end of the nipple and produces a neat and strong construction.

The detent -portion of the reinforcing member is formed by flaring the inner extremity of the member so as to produce a conical portion 12, which is provided with a series of integral bosses 13 on its inner surface. These bosses are resiliently engaged by the extremity 9 of the bail, and thus the bail is retained in upright position or any other convenient position, while it may be easily moved from one position to another since the resilient wire yields readily to permit the extremity 9 to ride over the bosses.

I/Vhile the detent-portion of the device is preferably formed at the inner end, as shown, the invention, in its broadest aspect, is not limited to this arrangement, as it is novel, so far as I am informed, to produce a bail-bearing in which a single member serves both as a reinforcement for the bearing and as a detent-device.

I claim:

1. In a tubular lantern, an air-tube provided with a bail-receiving opening, a bail pivoted in said opening and having a bent extremity within the air-tube, and a member comprising a reinforcing sleeve fixed in said opening and an expanded portion, at the inner end of the sleeve, provided with abutments to engage the extremity of the bail and retain the bail in raised position.

2. In a tubular lantern, the combination of an air-tube and a bail-bearing, said hearing having bail-engaging abutments at one end, and a resilient wire bail having a bent end projecting through said bearing into the interior of the air-tube, the bail having a portion resiliently engaging said abutments whereby the bail is retained in raised position.

3. In a tubular lantern, an air-tube provided with an integral nipple in its wall, an annular reinforcing member fixed to the nipple and having bail-engaging abutments at one end, and a resilient wire bail having a bent end joui'naled within the nipple and a portion resiliently engaging said abutlnents whereby the bail is retained in raised position.

4:. In a tubular lantern, an air-tube provided with an integral nipple in its wall, an integral member comprising an annular reinforcing-portion fixed to the nipple and an expanded detent-portion, at one end of the reinforcing-portion, provided with bail-engaging abn'tlnents, and a resilient Wire bail having a bent end projecting through said nipple into the interior of the air-tube and a portion resiliently engaging said detentportion.

ALBERT R. PRITCHARD.

itnesses L. THoN, C. V. CARROLL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

